When You Stop Running
by secretfanficlover
Summary: RoyalAU- Gabrielle isn't your typical Wix princess, she runs away to join a Muggle University to become a teacher.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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Word Count: 2781

3Title: When You Stop Running

Note: RoyalAU

Beta: Aya

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The Golden Snitch

[Name] Crissie

[School] Uagadou

[House] Ogyinae

Ollivanders: Core: Veela hair: Write about Gabrielle Delacour.

Hex And Curse: Papaya - The Gemino Curse (incorporated in her body double)

AU month: Category one: Alternate Universe: Royalty AU

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Summer Camp:

Week 6: Write about trying to become what your heart desires, be it a singer, dancer, actor, etc. (100 points)

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Hogwarts:

Assignment 2: Health and Fitness. Task 1 - The Treadmill - Write about someone running away from their problems.

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"Gabby, you're a Wix princess, you can't just go and enroll in a Muggle university," Fleur tried to convince her sister.

"Oh come on, nobody would even recognise me, and I have Eloisa my body double so I am pretty sure Father wouldn't even notice," she responded.

"Of course, Father would!" Fleur insisted, but her tone lacked conviction. It was true that the king of France had a lot on his mind, not least of all getting his daughters married.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. Her sister couldn't even lie convincingly. At their Father's behest, they were to meet a potential suitor for Fleur in a couple of days. "Flower, you know as well as I do Father won't accept my alternative sexuality," she admitted sadly. "My only hope is to go away and have Eloisa stand in for me while I have some freedom and then for me to return after I got my degree and resign myself to misery," she said.

"Gabby, that's a tad melodramatic, don't you think?" she responded. She raised her eyebrows at Fleur and gave her a look that spoke volumes.

"I need to have courage; this is my dream, don't you understand Flower?" she asked finally. "I just want to be _normal_ for once, not a princess, not a witch, just a _normal _woman."

Fleur didn't understand, but she accepted it for her sister. She was intent on becoming Queen since the laws had just changed regarding a Male firstborn needing to be the one to take the throne. Their father groomed Fleur to become Queen from birth. The loss of his wife made him distant and unaffectionate. It was true he had little time for them, and she also realised that some part of him blamed Gabrielle for their mother's passing.

In the end, no matter what her sister said, Gabrielle had made up her mind. She had an excellent relationship with her body double, and Eloisa was honoured to take the place of the princess, even if it was temporary. So Gabrielle packed a duffle bag with her things and made sure to pack just enough to get by.

Her dark eyes were glinting with excitement as she escaped down the staff passageways in the castle. When she reached outside the wards and was walking down the street with her bag over her shoulder, it was just before nightfall, but Eloisa had told her about a Muggle salon that could help her change her hair. Her long silver-blonde locks were an obvious giveaway of her heritage.

She walked into the salon nervously. She wasn't sure if some Wix would recognise her in the town before she could get away. An older woman saw her looking lost and immediately asked if she could help her.

"I want to change my hair," she said nervously. She wasn't sure how Muggles changed the appearance. Did it hurt?

"Of course dear, have you had your hair cut with us before?" she asked.

"Cut it?" Gabrielle tried to look like this wasn't foreign to her.

"Oh, new blood," she said, smiling. "Let me take care of everything, do you want a complete change or just a cut?"

"I want my parents not to recognise me," she said with a grin.

"Oh, well in that case, dear, you've come to the right place," the woman responded, moving her to the chair and washing her platinum locks in the sink.

They decided on a dark reddish-brown colour and a shorter style that came just above her shoulder blades. She saw her pale white reflection in the mirror while her hair was wet, her brown eyes shone, and she could hardly recognise the person she had become. '_Normal,' _she thought.

Once the lady had finished her hair, she walked out into the streets of Paris again, feeling much more at ease with her plan of escape. She was well above seventeen, so she no longer had the tracker on her for underage magic. Still, she thought it would be best not to draw attention to herself.

Gabrielle spent that night in a nearby hotel; located near the Statue of Liberty. She fell asleep watching the sunset. Gabby already felt that she was miles from home, and her journey had only just begun. The room was small and sparsely decorated, and she felt strange without her comforts around her.

She sat in a chair reading _Pride and Prejudice_ until she fell asleep, and woke up with her book on the floor and a sore neck. She had never been allowed to fall asleep anywhere. The morning came, and without worry, she spent the next morning picking her breakfast from a tray. She had her small teacup in her hand with a mug of hot Earl Grey.

She knew she needed to get used to doing things for herself, so to practice, she had made her bed before going down for breakfast. She was dressed in everyday Muggle clothing and felt like a new person when she left the hotel around midday. When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she realised that this was it, Gabby had done it, and now all she needed to do was reach her destination.

When she filled in the form with a black pen, her heart was racing like crazy. She was signing up for university. As soon as classes start she couldn't help but feel a little guilty about running away, but all in all, it seemed like her absence went unnoticed.

She was walking to class one day when she noticed a woman about her age sitting under a tree reading a book. Gabrielle didn't recognize the set work, must have been from another class, but the focus of the dirty blond-haired female caught her attention. She still walked to her class, but something about her drew her in.

Gabrielle couldn't stop thinking about her. She didn't see her again for a while. Then one day found her sitting alone in the cafeteria with an apple in hand. She seemed to notice someone staring, and she looked up, Gabby's eyes met her stony blue ones, and a few seconds of recognition seemed to cross her face. Gabby almost panicked but the emotion changed to neutral practically right away and she believed it must have been a fluke.

She walked over to her, intent on introducing herself to the beautiful woman.

"Hi there, I was wondering if I could sit with you." Gabby asked.

"Oh… No, thanks," she replied. Gabby blushed, she usually got what she wanted right away. She decided she would try some other time again; she needed a plan to woo her first.

_I would rather be at home all by myself not in this room_

_With people who don't even care about my well being_

Bree saw the look of desire in the other woman's eyes as they met, she felt sure it was Princess Delacour, but she wasn't about to admit that she felt flattered. She was pretty, that was clear, but a relationship to her was about more than looks. Bree hated that she is stuck with these idiots, but after the battle at Hogwarts, Bree needed to get away from the Wizarding community. The prejudice against Slytherins was at an all-time high, and she needed to feel like she was making a difference.

Her parents didn't understand her to want for a university degree. She didn't _need_ it, yet she craved a feeling of belonging and acceptance. Somewhere she could just be herself. If she wanted to mourn Professors Lupin and Snape, she could cry. Nobody was telling her how Slytherin's don't show emotion. Her studies to be a doctor were fascinating. Muggles knew much more about the body and illnesses than Wix could ever dream of knowing.

Fleur didn't need to struggle to find her sister, but when she saw what Gabrielle had done to her hair, she was outraged.

"What did you do?" she cried. "Your beautiful luminous hair, Gabby, how could you?"

Gabby shrugged. "I needed a change," she admitted.

"Well, you certainly don't look like a princess," Fleur said, taking in the torn blue jeans and a black shirt with the university logo.

"What are you doing here, Flower?" she asked instead, it wasn't like her sister to come all this way for just a visit.

"I just miss you. I miss us," Fleur admitted, finally embracing her younger sibling. The two sisters had always been close. Gabrielle was probably the most important person in the world to Fleur.

"I miss you as well," she said with a smile. "But classes are so much fun, and I am learning a lot."

"Father found you a suitor, you are to be married off," she admitted. She was trying to approach the situation calmly, but she knew her sister wouldn't let Eloisa get married in her place. "It is time for you to come home and get married," she added.

"I understand that Father has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it," Gabrielle said stubbornly.

"So you would let your double get wed on your behalf? Gabby, you need to stop running," Fleur tried reasoning, but she met with resistance.

"Have Eloisa lock herself in her room and refuse to see anyone until Father sees reason," Gabby said, looking pleased with her idea.

"That would never work, you know that," Fleur said.

"I will not marry a man," Gabby said stubbornly.

"You haven't got a choice," Fleur insisted. "What will happen when you stop running?"

"I need more time, at least have her stall, I will come back after my exams and speak to Father," she insisted. Her sister knew her well and could tell that there was more to the reason she wanted to stay longer. That's why she decided to accept her sister's plea for help without argument. She knew some problems this would cause for her back home.

_Excuse me if I seem a little unimpressed with this_

_An antisocial pessimist but usually I don't mess with this_

Bree was sitting underneath her tree again, her copy of the_ Daily Prophet_ hidden behind a propped-up textbook. She read how Harry Potter had announced he was naming his one son after Professor Snape, and she felt outraged. How dare he claim that title? Who did he think he was? He never even liked him, and she was sure that he wouldn't have wanted to be the namesake of Potter's son. She managed to keep her face stony as was expected of her, but her will was not strong enough to prevent a tear of rage rolling down her face at the thought that this "hero" was still getting all the credit, as if he single-handedly won the war. What about all the death and loss? Did he care for that?

She was so focused on the emotions that she didn't realise that the other woman had approached her.

"Are you okay?" Gabby asked, sitting down beside her underneath the tree.

"What? Oh, yes of course," she responded, surprised that she had been caught unaware, still not positive if it was the French Wix Princess, Bree suddenly slammed her book shut so that she wouldn't see the moving face of many of her former professors, as well as the renowned war hero.

"I'm Gabby, what's your name?" she asked, smiling. It was as though she had noticed the tears, but prefer not to push for information Bree didn't want to provide.

"I'm Bree Tanner," Bree said slowly, watching for a reaction. Her family wasn't as famous as many other wizarding families, but her breakdown during the funeral of Professor Snape got well documented by Rita Skeeter, an evil, attention-seeking woman. Her voice lowered before she continued. "Would that be _Princess _Gabrielle Delacour?" The recognition flickered in Gabby's eyes. This woman was in the wizarding war when the Death Eaters had attacked the castle grounds of Hogwarts.

"I would prefer Gabby," she said just as softly. It was apparent these two witches had found each other in a foreign environment, and Gabby intended on making the most of this. She believed that she found someone she could trust.

"You know how they say listen to your elders or whatever," Gabby continued. She wanted to ask Bree what she was supposed to do with her Father.

"Yeah, what's the question?" Bree asked curiously, eyebrows raised.

"How do I tell my Father that I don't want to be married to a man?" Gabrielle asked her suddenly. She was bypassing all customs.

"Hey, I'm lesbian," Bree replied, she shrugged her shoulders and then held up her hands.

"I thought you were British," Gabby asked curiously.

"Not Lebanese, lesbian as in gay," Bree responded, rolling her eyes at the misunderstanding.

"Oh!" Gabby exclaimed with a blush. "Yeah, I suppose I could just come out and tell him, can't I?"

Bree nodded. "Your Father, although he is the king, will probably understand if you speak to him, my parents understood after a while. My Father did say it explained why I am so emotional," she rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Well, Bree, what would you say is your idea of the perfect date?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

"Movies and Ice cream," she said almost immediately.

"Sounds good to me," Gabby replied, tired of the serious conversation.

It was the day before her last exam; Gabby was as prepared as she could ever be. She was prepared for her exam; and for talking to her Father. She was shocked that her sister had managed to stall as long as she had. It had also surprised her that Bree had warmed up to her since that first meeting in the cafeteria. The two girls had been hanging out more and more recently, and Gabby loved her company.

There was a knock on the door, and when she opened the door to her dorm, she saw Bree holding a tub of chocolate ice cream and a soppy romance movie.

"You brought ice cream. Is this a date?" Gabby asked cheekily.

"If you want it to be," Bree responded, her eyes giving away her nervous energy.

The heat was blistering when she reached France. Gabrielle was scared, not only had she just succeeded in getting her first girlfriend and passing all her exams, but now she needed to stop running and speak to her father. She walked into the castle while many of the guards stared at her. That was until they recognised her as the princess. She walked into her father's office where he was bent over his scrolls.

"Evening, Gabrielle," her Father addressed her. He didn't look up, but she knew that he was aware of her change in appearance. "I was wondering when you would be coming home," he added.

"Father, I…" she stared, unsure where to begin.

"Why would you run away? Have I not given you everything your heart desires?" he asked, looking up at her with sadness in his eyes.

"Father, I control my life. Not you," she said slowly.

"I don't mean to control you, I just want you to be safe, surely you understand?" her father replied.

She shook her head. "Father, I am not interested in men," she said. His eyes widened in realisation.

"Darling girl, why did you never tell me?" he asked.

"I didn't think you would listen," she replied honestly. Her reddish-brown hair had started growing out, and the pale blonde tips contrasted with the darker ends. "I passed my first-year exams, and I want to go back and become a teacher," she added after a while.

"My clever girl! I always knew you could do anything you set your mind to," he responded with a grin.

"So, you're not mad at me?" Gabby asked.

"No dear, Fleur and I only wanted you to find your place so that you could stop running," he said.

"My place isn't here in the castle," she said.

"I know, dear, I know," her father responded with a smile. He had known his youngest was meant for the world, and although he had trouble accepting it, he wanted the best for her.

Thus Gabby finally could stop running, and embrace herself for all she is, as well as working towards her dream of becoming a Muggle teacher, and it didn't hurt that she got to be with Bree. The two of them soon moved in together, knowing that fate had brought them together. When she left the castle that day, it was with new conviction, knowing that she need never hide who she was ever again.


End file.
